Part 12 (1/2)
”I've got a hat if you like that better,” Kristine said, a little embarra.s.sed, tousling her hair nervously.
”Are you kidding?” Gloria ran her own fingers through Kristine's short waves, tucking a strand behind her ear. ”I love being able to see your whole face. You've got nowhere to hide from me.” She ran a hand down Kristine's arm. Kristine reacted with a s.h.i.+ver. ”You clean up nice. Up 'til today, I couldn't picture you away from the horses and the trail.”
Kristine drove them back to Mammoth Lakes thinking about Gloria's words. Though she doubted it was intentional, Gloria's comment about seeing only the cowgirl version of her renewed the hesitation Kristine felt about getting involved with someone who was okay with a summer fling. When the summer came to a close, would she desire something more with Kristine?
They found a small steakhouse and were tickled to be seated right in front of the stone fireplace. They took the waiter's suggestion and had the buffalo burger and Mediterranean shrimp and talked about the aspects of Mammoth they'd miss when the summer was over, both agreeing that it was sometimes nice to be the tourist, unrecognized by everyone in town. While they waited for their food, Kristine scrolled through some of the photos she'd taken to distract herself from the question of what would happen when the season closed in just a few weeks.
”I like the close-ups the best,” Gloria said. ”The texture is really something, isn't it?”
”That, in contrast to the still, clearness of the water is really fun to play with. I can't believe I've driven by the lake so many times without stopping to shoot anything.”
”I'm really impressed,” Gloria said. ”I was with you all day, but I don't feel like I saw half of this. You have a way of finding the coolest angles. I'd love to see how you would capture the places I love. What you'd do with the fog in the redwoods or when it settles in on the coast like a blanket. There are all these great gnarled trees that hang onto the rocky cliffs.”
”I saw a collection of prints from a place called Fern Canyon. That area is definitely on my list of places to visit.”
”Well consider yourself invited. I'll be your tour guide.”
The day had made her feel close to Gloria, closer than she'd been to anyone in a long time, yet she couldn't shake the feeling that they were spending time together out of the convenience of being in the same place. Kristine, herself, was a tour guide to hundreds of people in the backcountry during the summer. There was no intimacy there, just a professional courtesy. She wanted to ask if that was all Gloria would be, but instead she said, ”It sounds like you miss home.”
”I'll be happy to wrap up this project and get back,” Gloria admitted. ”I enjoyed fieldwork a lot more when my folks could join me. When I was little, we used to take family vacations every year, a different state park that my mom would research the whole year. When I started working with Fish and Wildlife, it was kind of continuing that tradition, only we went where the job took me instead of the park my mom chose.”
”They can't join you here?”
”No, my mom has leukemia. At first it just meant no hiking. That's when we got the camper. That made it a lot easier on my mom. But it's gotten trickier to manage-more medication, more doctors' appointments. She's more comfortable at home.”
”And this is why you send her pictures,” Kristine said. ”Because she can't make it.”
”You remembered.”
”Of course. You sent her my stuff. I was really flattered.” They ate in silence, Kristine appreciating a salad after months of chicken and ribs. ”Is it easier for your mom when you're home?” she asked.
”Yes and no. I really enjoy her company, and my dad is always telling me how much better she does when I'm around. He keeps urging me to get something full time in town. I want to be there, but at the same time, I don't want her to feel like I'm hovering. Like when I'm away, it's because I have faith that she's doing well enough that I can be away.”
”So, she's doing well now?”
”Well enough, thanks.” Gloria's eyes were warm. She reached across the table and traced her finger along the back of Kristine's hand. ”What about your parents? Are you close?”
Kristine sighed, pus.h.i.+ng her plate away. ”They're good people, and we get on fine if I follow their cues.”
”So the pun on your logo is intended.”
Kristine was impressed that Gloria had noticed what she'd implied on the Suzy-Q Card logo she used. The disagreements with her father always stemmed from Kristine trying to go in a direction that didn't match his plans. ”My father would very much like it if I would be more dutiful and grateful for the ranch he'd like to hand over to me when he retires. I love the ranch, and I love Quincy, but I cannot spend the rest of my life there.”
The attentive waiter returned and offered dessert. Gloria waved him off easily, and Kristine agreed that she had no room for it, but the way Gloria kept her gaze on Kristine made her wonder if she had a different kind of dessert in mind. Back in the cab of the truck, Gloria leaned over and pulled Kristine into a deep kiss, an I have plans for you kiss. Her lips tempted her down a very appealing trail, one she knew offered all sorts of wondrous views and experiences. Reluctantly, she broke away from the kiss.
Her attention back on the road, her father's parting words as she'd left for the Lodge came back to her. He challenged her about whether she had a concrete plan for her future because unless she did, he figured she'd stick to his plan for her on the ranch. Kristine did have a plan of sorts, which she hadn't told her father. It was to extract herself from the ranch. Whatever came next she didn't know, but she knew she would never return for an extended period ever again. Instead of forging out on her own after she graduated, she'd made the mistake of going home and had found it almost impossible to leave. Gabe's last-minute call had given her a toehold to the freedom to make her own choices.
Kristine held the hand Gloria put in her lap and wondered where this woman might lead her. At the beginning of the summer, she'd been drawn to Gloria because she seemed to see Kristine for who she was, not as the girl she had been as everyone else did. Now, since she'd spent more time with Gloria and shared the conflict about her past at the Lodge, she knew for certain that if they slept together it would not be a transient thing, at least for her. She still worried about the comment Gloria had made earlier in the summer about casual s.e.x not being a problem for her.
”You're not staying,” Gloria stated when Kristine pulled up next to Gloria's camper and put the truck into neutral.
Kristine kissed her, trying to convey with her actions how very much she would like to stay. ”I had the best day.”
”I did, too.”
”I'm sorry, I...” What could Kristine say? It wasn't that she didn't want to stay or that she wasn't immensely attracted to Gloria. ”You are so beautiful, so s.e.xy...”
”It's okay.” Gloria kissed her again, her tongue dancing playfully against Kristine's. ”I know you've got a lot going on in here.” She ma.s.saged Kristine's temple.
”You're not disappointed?”
”I was disappointed at the beginning of the summer when you said no.”
”I never meant...”
”No.” Gloria kissed her. ”I wasn't trying to make you feel guilty. I was disappointed because from the moment I saw you, I wanted to kiss those lips, I wanted to get you out of those s.e.xy jeans you wear. I wanted what I always wanted. Your wanting to be friends changed things...”
”You don't want me so much anymore?” Kristine said, lacing her fingers with Gloria's.
”If you're getting that impression, I need to try harder to show you that everything's different.” She squeezed Kristine's hand. ”What I wanted always burned bright and quick, but now...You told me you're not into that anymore.”
”No.” Kristine hadn't expected the idea she'd been struggling with all night to turn into a conversation with Gloria. But then, she hadn't expected saying yes to a date and finding herself wanting the more-than-casual relations.h.i.+p that they now seemed to have. She wasn't even sure what kind of relations.h.i.+p that meant.
”As it turns out, neither am I.”
”What are you into now?”
”Whatever this is with you. I want it to be more than friends.h.i.+p, but I know that you need to do what feels right to you. I'm following your lead.”
”That could be trouble if I don't know where I'm going.” Kristine leaned forward, and their mouths met again. Kristine was aiming for a thank-you-for-understanding kiss, uncomplicated. Succinct. Her lips betrayed her though, parting enough that Gloria teased her tongue past them in invitation. Kristine could not resist, opening her mouth further, losing herself in the caress of Gloria's lips, the playful dance of their tongues. Their kisses quickened, luring her in deeper. This, she realized, felt right. She'd be crazy to drive away knowing Gloria felt the same way. She threw the truck in reverse, and Gloria pulled away, confused.
”You told me to do what feels right. I'm listening.” She eyed Gloria's camper. ”But your camper seems a little cramped. Is my place okay?”
”I wasn't trying to pressure...”
Kristine stopped her with a kiss. ”Do you need anything, or can I drive?”
”I just need you.”
For now, Kristine thought, that would be enough.
Chapter Eighteen.